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Researchers Identify Hotspots for Ecological Research

March 8, 2011 — Rarely do undergraduate students have the opportunity to see
their work published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Rarer still is when an undergraduate's work is selected for
a major publication, much less being selected as the cover article. But two
University of Wyoming students contributed to an article that was selected for
the cover of the journal, Ecosphere.

John Pokallus of Gillette, a recent graduate with a degree
in wildlife and fisheries biology and management, was the lead author of the
article, "The Landscape of Ecology," published in Ecosphere's February issue.

Zoology major Grant Campbell of Laramie also contributed to
the article while an undergraduate student. The other cited authors were
graduate students Ben Koch of Laramie, who is still a Ph.D. student in zoology
and ecology, and Jon Pauli of Madison, Wis., who is now an assistant professor
in the Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology at the University of
Wisconsin.

The scientists recognized that the spatial patterns of
ecological research within the United States have never been measured, even
through significant aspects of the scientific process, including innovation and
the exchange of ideas, can be influenced by the geographic distribution of
scientists and resources.

By using an approach similar to that used to map global
biodiversity hotspots, the researchers quantified ecological research activity
across the United States. This was accomplished by assigning members of
Ecological Society of America, recipients of National Science Foundation
grants, and authors of publications in leading ecological journals to the ZIP
code of their home institutions.

"Using these data we mapped the density of ecologists, and
the magnitude of their inputs and outputs, and quantified an ‘ecological
activity' index to measure the spatial intensity of ecological research within
the United States," the article states. "We also examined spatial patterns of
collaboration. Our quantification of ecological activity and subsequent cluster
analysis revealed distinct centers, or hotspots, of ecological research."

Knowledge of such hotspots, the authors said, would not only
highlight the most productive communities of ecologists, but help in
identifying where especially fruitful research opportunities may exist.

Photo:University of Wyoming
researchers generated this map of ecological research hotspots in the United
States. The map was chosen for the cover of the cover of Ecosphere's February
issue.